Columbus councilmen will have to weigh a proposed 2-mill tax increase this year as they work to finalize the city’s budget.
Chief Administrative Officer David Armstrong and Mayor Robert Smith raised the issue to councilmen during a Wednesday afternoon budget meeting in City Hall. They said the city is facing several needs that will require more funding.
“This is not just on a whim,” Armstrong said. “We’ve put a lot of thought into this.”
City mills are valued at $192,000 for Fiscal Year 2018, which starts Oct. 1. A 2-mill tax increase would generate an extra $384,000. City millage last rose for Fiscal Year 2016 to 43.69 mills.
Mills are used to calculate property taxes. Ad valorem tax revenue is based on the assessed value of real and personal property. So, the value of one mill helps public entities, such as counties, cities and school districts, determine how many mills to levy in taxes each year.
The council will meet again next week to continue budget discussions.
Reasons for raising taxes
Councilmen received a list of reasons for the millage increase, including the cost of hiring six new firefighters to man Columbus Fire and Rescue’s second medical response truck, and of pushing Columbus Police Department to 77 officers, or potentially 80, as recommended in consultant K.B. Turner’s recently-submitted report. The list also included potential capital projects and replacing aging public works vehicles.
One of the chief concerns, though, is the city’s landfill is running out of space.
“We probably have about 3.6 years left there,” Smith said.
Armstrong said the city bought an extra six to seven years at the landfill when it ran out of room to spread out by piling refuse vertically. That time is running out, he said.
A study by engineering firm Neel-Schaffer found two main options for the landfill. One, Armstrong said, is to expand the landfill’s footprint, which could add another 30 or so years to the landfill.
“For that, you have a permit fee to (Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality) of $30,000,” Armstrong said. “You’re looking at construction administration and engineering costs of $80,000, and the cost to do it is $454,000.”
Another option is to find a new site, but Armstrong said that could be even more expensive with an estimated $1.2 million to $2 million price tag.
The list of reasons for a millage increase didn’t include pay raises for employees, which city Chief Financial Officer Milton Rawle said could cost about $250,000. That does not include police, because the council approved pay raises for officers last year.
Councilmen respond
Ward 6 Councilman Bill Gavin said he hasn’t decided on whether he will support a millage increase. He said he’d prefer to cut spending before raising taxes, but noted that sometimes that’s not feasible. He also noted that the city typically draws from its general fund to balance budgetary deficits, and a millage increase might help offset that.
“I have not made my mind up, but it may be time for a small millage increase to help make up for taking money out of our general fund,” he said. “I want to cut, but sometimes you can’t cut enough.”
Ward 2 Councilman Joseph Mickens said he is also skeptical.
“Right now, I’m not inclined to do it,” he said. “Unless they can show me some more areas we need to increase it in. I know they pointed out a lot of stuff we need, but I need to have a little bit more details before I sign off on it.
“Let me see what the community has to say, let me see what the people have to say,” he added. “I need some feedback, not just from my constituents, but the city. If we do increase the millage, I want it go where they say it will. I’m just not sold on the reasons they said we need it for.”
Budget overview
Columbus’ proposed FY 18 budget is, so far, slightly smaller than the FY 17 budget. The budget includes $23.15 million in projected expenditures, with $23.17 million projected revenue. Those projected expenditures do not include the police, fire and landfill costs administration presented Wednesday.
The FY 17 budget included $23.26 million in expenditures and revenue.
City mill value jumped $13,000 to $192,000 for FY 18 from FY 17’s $179,000. It’s the biggest one swing in one-year mill value going back to at least FY 2009.
Overall, projected ad valorem revenue from real and personal property, along with motor vehicles, rose about $300,000 for FY 18. However, Armstrong pointed out the increase is negated by a $300,000 loss in police fines and forfeitures revenue. Armstrong said the loss comes from changes from the federal government that prevent jailing people for not paying fines.
“You can’t just put someone jail anymore because they don’t pay fines,” Armstrong said. “That’s what we used to do, but you can’t do that anymore. We’ve had to hire a public defender just for misdemeanors, and that’s never happened before.
“It’s not just the city of Columbus — it’s going to be across the whole state, in every city in the state,” he added. “That’s a pretty whopping decrease that pretty much eats up that real estate ad valorem and motor vehicle ad valorem (increases).”
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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